Chapter 1231 We’ll See Again

Beginning's arm moved.

"So fast?!" the Lumin Mothkin's eyes widened.

The enormous palm changed direction in midair with a speed completely incompatible with Beginning's size.

"No!"

Bang!

The hand struck it directly.

The Lumin Mothkin became a golden blur as it was slapped across the meadow. Its tiny body tore through the grass, bounced once, then again, before finally smashing into the ground hard enough to create a long trench.

For several seconds, it didn't move.

Then one trembling wing slowly rose from the crater.

"…What kind of giant moves like that?"

It had only just forced itself upright when the air beside it shifted.

A fair hand emerged from seemingly nowhere and closed around empty space where its neck had been a fraction of a second earlier.

The Lumin Mothkin's wings exploded with golden light. Its body blurred. By the time the hand closed, it had already escaped several metres away.

The creature twisted in midair, staring back.

A young man stood where it had been. Long black hair moved gently behind him in the wind. His expression was calm, almost curious.

The Lumin Mothkin recognized him immediately.

Michael Norman.

The portrait provided by Shadow Pavilion had been accurate.

Michael, meanwhile, was surprised at the creature's movement.

"It's so fast?"

One should know, he was already in Wisdom State. His perception, reactions, control, and movement were all operating at their highest level.

Yet the creature had still escaped his grasp. Its speed was no joke. Looking at the creature's appearance, Michael was curious what race it was from.

Unfortunately for the Lumin Mothkin, there was no time for either of them to think further.

Beginning arrived.

The giant's enormous foot came crashing down. The creature vanished in a burst of golden light before impact.

Boom!

The meadow exploded.

Michael moved at the same time.

For the next several minutes, the battlefield became something resembling a hunt.

The Lumin Mothkin never stayed in one place for more than a second. It darted across the golden plains, using sunlight to constantly erase its presence and change direction without warning.

Michael followed tightly. Sometimes he appeared behind it. Sometimes above it. Other times, a hand would suddenly reach from a blind spot the creature had been certain was empty moments earlier.

Each time, it barely escaped. But that was all it could do. Michael was still able to land a few solid hits when it was distracted.

At this point, the Lumin Mothkin wanted to escape. It no longer had any real opportunity to attack Michael.

The other undead were considerably less troublesome. They simply couldn't keep up. Even when they surrounded areas in groups, the Lumin Mothkin could slip through gaps before they reacted.

That should have reassured it, if Michael hadn't also been able to keep up. Instead, it terrified it.

The Rank Three human could actually chase it.

Worse, Michael wasn't recklessly throwing attacks around, the way it had expected from a human youth trying to teach it a lesson. He was like a slippery snake, only daring to attack when it was distracted by the giant.

The Lumin Mothkin's heart beat faster.

Another shadow appeared overhead.

It was Beginning.

"Again?! Just leave me alone!"

It shot sideways. Michael appeared directly in its escape path.

The creature immediately twisted downward, wings nearly folding against its back as it dropped toward the grass.

Michael's fingers passed just above its head.

The creature disappeared into the sunlight again.

Michael stopped in the air and watched it flee.

"This one's troublesome."

It was not powerful enough to threaten him as long as he was careful, but if it wanted nothing except to run, catching it cleanly would take time.

Michael didn't particularly feel like wasting that time.

So he summoned another five hundred undead.

The Lumin Mothkin stared in shock. Its wings stopped moving for half a second. Its eyes slowly moved toward the undead already scattered across the meadow.

Something inside it finally broke.

A panel appeared.

[Would you like to forfeit the Ranking Challenge?]

The creature selected yes immediately.

[Forfeit Confirmed.]

Michael had only just begun directing the newly summoned undead when the entire battlefield froze.

[Opponent Has Forfeited.]

[Challenge Victory Confirmed.]

[Ranking Positions Will Be Exchanged.]

Michael stared at the panel. Then toward the distant golden blur that was already beginning to dissolve into light.

"…Seriously?"

Michael watched the Lumin Mothkin disappear without feeling much disappointment. If anything, he was amused.

"We'll meet again."

During the few solid hits he had managed to land, Michael hadn't only been trying to injure it. He had also left something behind.

A spatial mark.

Michael couldn't sense it in the arena, but when he went outside, the story would change. As long as the mark remained, Michael had a reference. Eventually, regardless of where the creature went within the Origin Battlefield or the universe, he would have a much easier time finding it again if they ever crossed paths.

Michael wasn't particularly angry.

The Lumin Mothkin had simply accepted a ranking challenge, but the chosen battlefield implied it might have had some other intentions.

Michael didn't feel comfortable dwelling on whether that was true or whether it had simply been a coincidence, since the creature was aligned with the light element and might have simply wanted a home-ground advantage.

Was it petty?

Probably.

Michael smiled as the golden meadow vanished around him.

"But it is what it is. When we meet in the future, we'll naturally talk over any issue of mutual interest, I guess."

Still, just like Varek, this creature also made Michael aware of the power difference of those ranked in the Top 200. No one of them was truly ordinary.

He wondered just how strong those in the Top 100 were.

Or even the Top 10.

Surely those people had Demigod-rank prowess, right?

Aside from wanting some peace by proving to others that they needed to think twice before crossing him, Michael felt a rare trace of battle intent.

The Origin Battlefield was truly interesting.